9.30.2010

Eat Your Way Slim
No matter what your weight-loss goal -- to lose 10 pounds, shed ab flab, or trim inches from your thighs -- this diet plan will get you there. You'll munch bagels, burritos, and burgers and melt fat at the same time. Simply choose from the meals and snacks on these pages for a total of 1,500 calories a day. We guarantee you'll never feel hungry or deprived.

9.29.2010

We love all of our paper products, but these two programs, both luxuriously letterpessed on the finest paper stock, are true stationery indulgences!

This beautiful wedding program holds 6 leafs (2 cover leafs and 4 inside panels printed on one side) and is the perfect compliment to any sophisticated event.

The cover features custom calligraphy in gold foil letterpress and a custom one letter monogram anchored by two gold rhinestones on iridescent eggplant card stock. The four inside leafs include custom calligraphy flat printed in eggplant on iridescent gray card stock. Held together with a simple gold grommet. Measures 4x6.

Click here to purchase programs just like this from our Etsy online store!

The second is a gilded letterpress program with ribbon that can be purchased here from Etsy.

This lovely program with a letter pressed floral design and gilded calligraphy on ivory card stock if finished with the ribbon color of your choice. It is shown in 2 color letterpress (blind emboss + gold foil) and 4 inside panels for wording.

Both of these lush programs come in your color choice to match your wedding palette. Matching invitations, save the dates, and other items are available. Please inquire for more information.

Visit our Etsy store for more great pieces. All photography by Hannah Bergman.

9.28.2010

This week has been fun and challenging all at the same time. I work as an outside field consultant for a major national sports supplement distributor and we were holding an expo in Las Vegas (called the Olympia) for a week, so during that time of working I was looking at floral and rental bids. Seriously in Vegas! Made me contemplate on why we did not elope at the Little White Wedding Chapel there.

The musician has been hired; we decided to go with Anthony Ybarra - he came highly recommended by many people in the Santa Barbra area, so progress is happening.

Great news is that our girl's weekend in Dallas is booked. I'm excited to see my aunt, cousin, sister (matron of honor), mom and my closest family friends from Canada. Blessed to have such lovely ladies in my life and cannot wait to spend a day at the spa. After, this past week in Las Vegas it is going to be highly needed.

9.24.2010

This gorgeous wedding at the Biltmore in Santa Barbara boasts a handful of extremely talented vendors, and we were so excited to be a part of it!

Every detail was covered and guests were greeted with one of our currently hot trends - fan programs, specially created with a photo of the gorgeous couple! They could also grab a sweet parasol to beat the heat and leave their well wishes for the bride and groom.

The beautiful tables included a menu for each guest accented with a delicate floral touch. How amazing is that room?!

9.23.2010

We all get stressed out. Planning your wedding can bring out the unwanted bridezilla in even the most appreciative, down to earth and logical lady. Here is a plan to get back to yourself and take a moment to re-center.

Left nostril for calming
Right nostril for energizing

Pranayama: A yoga inspired meditation breathing technique will have you feeling calm, refreshed, and energized.

The 12 Amazing Benefits of Alternate Nostril Breathing:

1. Revitalizes: A few rounds of alternate nostril breathing is a quick pick me up if you are feeling flat, tired or even stressed. It provides your body with a much needed dose of extra energy.
2. Improves brain function: When you mind is dull – concentration and clarity is poor. Alternate nostril breathing brings equal amounts of oxygen to both sides of the brain for improved brain function.
3. Cleanses your lungs: A daily 5 minute practice morning and night of alternate nostril breathing is great way to remove stale air and impurities from the bottom of your lungs. Did you know that we hold 70% of our toxic waste in our lungs?!
4. Calms an agitated mind: A few minutes of focused alternate nostril breathing is helpful to calm an “over thinking” mind. The ancient yogis believe that if you can regulate your breath, then you can control your mind.
5. Merges the left “thinking” brain and right “feeling" brain: Alternate nostril breathing optimizes both sides of your brain so you can access your whole brain.
6. Encourages a calm emotional state: In times of emotional distress and upset, a few rounds of mindful nostril breathing will soften the intensity of over reactive emotional states. The longer you practice, the more stable your thinking, and the calmer your emotions will become.
7. Improves sleep: If you can’t sleep at night lay on your right hand side, gently close your right nostril with your right thumb and breath through your left nostril. This will activate your parasympathetic nervous system which will calm you down and slow your heart rate.
8. Great preparation for meditation/sleep: Alternate nostril breathing is a simple little trick that can be practiced for a few minutes before you begin your meditation practice. It’s a very easy way to help you find your meditation groove.
9. Excellent for your nervous system: By focusing on your breath and deepening it, your brain will register this message and trigger the parasympathetic nervous system. You have effectively switched your nervous system from a stressed response, into a relaxation response. Single left nostril breathing (by closing your right nostril) will direct the flow of oxygen and energy to the right hemisphere of your brain, allowing once again, for the parasympathetic nervous system to be switched on.
10. Regulates the cooling and warming cycles of the body: Left nostril is feminine, nurturing, calm and cooling. Right nostril is masculine, heat, competitive and force. Favouring one nostril more than the other can effect the heat or coolness of your body.
11. Clears and boosts your energy channels: Slightly forced alternate nostril breathing improves and directs the flow of energy throughout your body – preventing sluggishness. It oxygenates your blood and allows the energy (Prana) in your body to be strong and flowing.
12. Promotes rest and relaxation: A restless mind cannot relax. Alternate nostril breathing melts away an imbalances between the right and left hemisphere of your brain and calms your thoughts.

Alternate Nostril Breathing Exercise - find a quiet place to sit comfortably, close your eyes and follow these easy steps:
Step 1: Place your middle finger between your eyebrows. Use your right thumb to close off right nostril.

Step 2: Inhale slowly through your left nostril

Step 3: Pause for a second, hold the breath in

Step 4: Now close the left nostril with your ring finger and release thumb off the right nostril

Step 5: Exhale through your right nostril

Step 6: Now, inhale through your right nostril

Step 7: Pause again

Step 8: Use thumb to close of right nostril

Step 9: Breathe out through the left nostril

Step 10: This is one round. Start slowly with 1 or 2 rounds and gradually increase to 5 or 6 rounds. Never force. Sit quietly for a few moments after you have finished.

Caution: Do not hold your breath if you have high blood pressure. More advanced methods of pranayama (alternate nostril breathing) need to be practiced with an experienced practitioner. Practicing on an empty stomach is preferred.

9.22.2010

We usually see maps used for save the dates or wedding themselves. They often include information for the whole weekend, but this particular map was created to let guests know about the post-reception party where they could continue to celebrate with the happy couple into the wee hours of the night!

Listing the ceremony and reception as well, this Arlington, Virginia map features the local hotspot Harry's Tap Room indicated with it's "After Party" caption! The couple also included information regarding parking on the reverse side to ensure the easy transition for their guests.

What a fun way to keep the party going and to continue to celebrate your love and special day!

9.21.2010

We were so thrilled to share in the planning process of Jenn's big day, and now we are excited to introduce our new bride-to-be, Alyson {with her fiance, Wes}!

From the bride herself...

I was so excited that Laura picked me to be the new bride to be on her blog site and then I sat back and thought oh goodness I have to put all of my wedding planning madness into words. So here we go my first experience in blogging world.

Here is the beginning…Wes & I met in in June of 2007 when I got the opportunity to move into a condo that was located right next door to Wes. We then became great friends. Wes even convinced me to sign onto eHarmony (which I went on no dates with) he told me it would be a great place to meet people. Wes taught me the "joy of hiking", spinning and working out all through out our friendship. We went on some unofficial dates over the next few months (Christie's cabaret, sushi, and even Yard House) until Wes officially asked me to Pizzeria Bianco where I met his friends, had great wine, and ate amazing pizza. If only I would have listened to my family sooner I would have been dating Wes for much longer. Though to his friends I am still considered “neighbor girl”.

After that Wes and I were official and he decided to propose to me on November 21, 2009. It took us a while to figure out where we wanted to have the wedding but we knew we wanted it to be small and not in Arizona. In April we planned a trip to Santa Barbra wine country with a few wedding spots in mind. When we drove into the Montecito area we knew that San Ysidro Ranch would be the perfect location. I called my parents (they were in LA at the time) and they met us there. Since we loved the time of year and how the flowers were in bloom we decided on April 30, 2011 as the DAY!!!

Then, the planning began. Over the past few months we have pretty much just sent out the save the dates and booked a photographer...oh boy do we have so much to do.

This brings us pretty much up to speed …….

This past week has been crazy busy. Wes and I just got back into town from planning/playing in Santa Barbara. Since we are from the Scottsdale, Arizona area and the wedding is in Santa Barbara wedding planning has been quite difficult to meet with people. But we decided to take the long weekend to go out and meet with some vendors and decide on flowers, musician and officiant as I have decided to do this wedding sans planner. I think I forgot to mention my parents just moved to Dallas, Texas - even further away than Wes & me.

We came away from the weekend with at least an officiant and an idea of our musician. But for some reason I feel more overwhelmed than before on what all needs to still be done. The list of to do just keeps growing …. rentals, cake, place settings, hotel room, stylist…. at least I have my dress and I know I am not walking down naked!

A special, personal touch comes from owner owner and graphic designer Marleine Pacilio launched Paper Olive in 2007, after struggling to find an original design solution for her own modern wedding. With an orange and lime color palette, she found that achieving a chic-yet-whimsical look meant taking on much of the challenge herself.
To her delight, she fell in love...again. This time, with paper - and the product is benefit to all of us! Marleine uses unexpected colors, rich fabrics, clean lines...each element is critical to the vibrant, contemporary style that sets Paper Olive apart.

Visit the Paper Olive website or blog for stationery finds and much more wedding inspiration!

9.16.2010

A core strengthening, abdominal endurance exercise that you can do right now!This isometric exercise will challenge your abdominals in a much more effective way and help complement your regular abdominal exercises.

Hold each position for at least 5 breaths. For each breath inhale through the nose and fill the rib cage three-dimensionally, exhale through the mouth and pull the navel to the spine deeper.

1. Lie on the floor with knees bent and your feet firmly planted. Hold behind your things and curl yourself up as high as you can while pulling your navel to your spine. Relax your neck and shoulders and think about only your abdominals working to keep you in this position.

2. Maintain that position while you let go of your thighs and reach your hands over your knee caps. Don't let your upper body fall to the floor, stay up high using your abdominal strength.

3. Send your finger tips up to the ceiling with straight arms. This will challenge your upper abdominals.

4. Open your arms out to the side keeping your arms off the floor and the rest of your body is still in the position from the beginning.

Repeat this series at least 3 times. Incorporate this endurance exercise into your regular abdominal routine at least once a week. The following week, increase the length of time you hold each position.

9.15.2010

This stunning wedding that took place in New York, New York was photographed by the fabulous Christian Oth and we are so excited to share these photos with you!

The project started out with an amazing invitation suite. We used Bickham Swash Caps in purple on soft white for all of the pieces, and it came out beautifully.

The night before the wedding the couple included a seating chart laying out their "Dartmouth Love Story" and the next day guests were greeted with a fun crossword puzzle while they waited for the ceremony to commence...

....and the puzzles were included in the gorgeous programs themselves!

After the ceremony guests picked up their passports that let them know their tables and also included all of the travel destinations of the happy couple!

Each table itself included a booklet on that location and an elegant setting complete with a custom, coordinating menu.

9.14.2010

I could not have asked for a more perfect day. The week before our wedding, Southern California experienced a heat-wave with triple digit temperatures, but thankfully when I woke up the morning of our wedding, the high temperatures had let up, giving way to the most beautiful, breezy day.

I met up with the ladies of our wedding party at the cottage provided by Ponte and we began getting ready. My sister did my hair and make-up, which I absolutely adored. I'm not sure how much she enjoyed working with me, as she had to listen to my concerns every step of the way, but she stayed professional and kind-hearted, assuring me she still needed to blend this and smooth that and everything would be fine.

After we were done getting ready, we met up with the guys to take photos prior to our wedding ceremony. I had asked Stephen a couple weeks ago what he thought my dress looked like (all you bride’s-to-be should do this; it’s hilarious) so I couldn't wait to reveal to him just how off he was. He’d given me quite a detailed description, explaining how the straps went over my shoulders and the back was a deep-v. He told me about the satin fabric, how it gathered across my body and had a little beading across the top. I was cracking up on the inside, but simply told him, “We’ll see.” When he saw me for the first time in my wedding gown, he took a second to take in the moment, then began laughing and told me, “Whoa, I was way off!” The fun and laughter continued as we took photos with each other and our wedding party. We were privileged to not only have awesome photographers, but they also happened to be our friends, which gave us all the freedom to be relaxed and have a good time. (I was fortunate to get a sneak-peak at what’s to come, since I had to have a few shots to share with you!)

Knowing my tendency to run late, as well as realizing our guests would be traveling quite a ways to our wedding, we decided a while back to have our cocktail hour prior to the wedding ceremony. This would allow time for guests to get to our venue and relax before the ceremony. Who am I trying to kid? It allowed our entire wedding party time to take a trip to Starbucks (which also happened to be a fun place for more photos!)

We drove back to Ponte after hours of preparation and fun with our photographers and began the celebration. Our ceremony was such a touching moment in my life. I felt like a little girl all over again when my father met me to walk me down the aisle. He told me I looked amazing and then led me on the path to my husband-to-be. Stephen looked stunning and I was so honored to become his wife. Our ceremony was not without flaw, which was perfect. There were laughs and tears and tons of love felt from everyone. We moved on to dinner, then outside to the patio for dancing and desserts. I was pretty impressed with everyone’s dancing skills and ability to keep the party going all night long!

As Stephen and I reminisce about our wedding, we can’t help but smile and talk about all the love we felt and how much fun we had. More than anything, we wanted our wedding celebration to be a gift to our friends and family who have waited patiently (for the most part) for ten years for this day. Our hope is that everyone had a great time and felt as loved as we did on our wedding day.

And on that note, I leave you all with my final blog post as a Bride-to-Be. It has been an honor to walk through my engagement with you and a true blessing to have such a talented friend in Laura. Thank you all.

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Thanks for your interest in A Lucky Orchid Wedding. I welcome all submissions, pictures and inquiries about the blog. If you have a product you would like discussed, please let me know and I will consider posting it! All images are copyright 2008-2009 by Laura Hooper unless I have otherwise credited them. You are very welcome to link to my blog or use the photos in your own blog as long as it is accompanied by a credit to my website. Please do not take any of my work for commercial OR personal use without getting permission from me first.

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